GoKawiilFrance's lower house narrowly passes per-gigabyte internet traffic tax
The National Assembly voted 11-10, with only 35 of 577 deputies present, to approve an amendment by Socialist deputy Laurent Lhardit taxing content providers 5.5 cents per gigabyte sent to French internet users. ISPs would track data flows and bill senders, with charges capped at 15% of French revenue or 2% of global revenue; supporters project €10 billion in annual revenue, drawing on regulator Arcep's estimate that five companies—Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix and Akamai—generate about half of the 200 billion gigabytes delivered yearly.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The measure faces opposition from the government and the budget's own rapporteur, and critics including Budget Minister David Amiel question whether traffic could even be measured accurately without new network sensors. Amiel and nonprofit VLC maker VideoLAN warn the tax could burden smaller and French-based content providers disproportionately, while rapporteur Philippe Juvin suggested major platforms might simply pass costs to advertisers, as Amazon did after France's 2019 digital services tax.
- France's National Assembly narrowly passed a 5.5 cents-per-gigabyte tax on content providers by an 11-10 vote.
- The tax would be collected via ISPs and capped at 15% of French or 2% of global revenue, with backers projecting €10 billion annually.
- Officials and smaller providers like VideoLAN warn of measurement challenges and disproportionate costs, with the measure still far from becoming law.
Source: techspot.com — Zo Ahmed, 2026-11-02
Published there as: “An internet tax that would charge by the gigabyte just squeaked through France's lower house”
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